System and method for rejuvenating an imaging sensor degraded by exposure to extreme ultraviolet or deep ultraviolet light

ABSTRACT

The present invention for imaging sensor rejuvenation may include a rejuvenation illumination system configured to selectably illuminate a portion of an imaging sensor of an imaging system with illumination suitable for at least partially rejuvenating the imaging sensor degraded by exposure to at least one of extreme ultraviolet light or deep ultraviolet light; and a controller communicatively coupled to the rejuvenation illumination system and configured to direct the rejuvenation illumination system to illuminate the imaging sensor for one or more illumination cycles during a non-imaging state of the imaging sensor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is related to and claims the benefit of theearliest available effective filing date(s) from the following listedapplication(s) (the “Related Applications”) (e.g., claims earliestavailable priority dates for other than provisional patent applicationsor claims benefits under 35 USC § 119(e) for provisional patentapplications, for any and all parent, grandparent, great-grandparent,etc. applications of the Related Application(s)).

RELATED APPLICATIONS

-   -   For purposes of the USPTO extra-statutory requirements, the        present application constitutes a regular (non-provisional)        patent application of United States Provisional patent        application entitled METHODS FOR REJUVENATING DEGRADED CCD        SENSOR, naming Gary Janik and Gil Delgado, as inventors, filed        Apr. 12, 2012, Application Ser. No. 61/623,557.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to a method and system forrejuvenating or repairing an imaging sensor degraded by high energylight exposure, and, in particular, a method and system for rejuvenatingor repairing an imaging sensor of a mask or wafer inspection tooldegraded by extreme ultraviolet light or deep ultraviolet lightexposure.

BACKGROUND

Inspection tools and procedures are commonly implemented during thefabrication of semiconductor devices. Inspection tools are used atvarious stages of the semiconductor device fabrication process in orderto image semiconductor wafers and the lithography masks used to form thepatterns on the semiconductor wafers. Fabricating semiconductor devicessuch as logic and memory devices typically includes processing asubstrate such as a semiconductor wafer using a large number ofsemiconductor fabrication processes to form various features andmultiple levels of the semiconductor devices. In some cases, extremeultraviolet (EUV) and/or deep ultraviolet (DUV) light are used to imagethe various features of a given mask or wafer. The exposure of animaging sensor (e.g., CCD imaging sensor) of an inspection tool to EUVor DUV light may lead to degradation of the given imaging sensor. Thedegradation of one or more imaging sensors of an inspection tool, inturn, leads to reduced processing and analysis throughput.

There are a number of commonly implemented procedures used to mitigateimaging sensor degradation caused by EUV or DUV light. In one case,previous methods included the operation operating an imaging sensor,such as a CCD, at cryogenic temperatures (e.g., below 100 K). However,the cooling of a given imaging sensor serves problematic for large area,high-speed imaging sensors, which are commonly used in commercialapplications. The operation of large area, high-speed sensors commonlygenerates heat at rates greater than 10 W. In turn, this heat generationexerts a significant thermal load on the cryogenic cooling system. Thisshort fall is compounded by the fact that cryogenic cooling systems aretypically expensive, large and cumbersome.

In another case, imaging sensor degradation is commonly countered bysimply replacing a given imaging sensor once the imaging sensor hasreached a selected level degradation or at pre-selected usage levelsbased on anticipated degradation. This technique, however, leads toincreased downtime of the given inspection tool, reducing efficiency andthroughput.

As a result, improved systems and methods for mitigating the impact ofimage sensor degradation caused by exposure to EUV or DUV light aredesirable.

SUMMARY

An apparatus for rejuvenating an imaging sensor degraded by exposure toEUV or DUV light is disclosed. In one aspect, an apparatus may include,but is not limited to, a rejuvenation illumination system configured toselectably illuminate a portion of an imaging sensor of an imagingsystem with illumination suitable for at least partially rejuvenatingthe imaging sensor degraded by exposure to at least one of extremeultraviolet light or deep ultraviolet light; and a controllercommunicatively coupled to the rejuvenation illumination system andconfigured to direct the rejuvenation illumination system to illuminatethe imaging sensor for one or more illumination cycles during anon-imaging state of the imaging sensor.

A method for rejuvenating an imaging sensor degraded by exposure to EUVor DUV light is disclosed. In one aspect, a method may include, but isnot limited to, illuminating a portion of an imaging sensor of animaging system during a non-imaging state of the imaging sensor withillumination suitable for at least partially rejuvenating the imagingsensor degraded by exposure to at least one of extreme ultraviolet lightor deep ultraviolet light; monitoring the temperature of the imagingsensor; and responsive to the monitored temperature of the imagingsensor, establishing or maintaining the temperature of the imagingsensor by adjusting a power output level of illumination impinging onthe imaging sensor.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not necessarily restrictive of the invention as claimed. Theaccompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a partof the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the general description, serve to explain the principlesof the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous advantages of the disclosure may be better understood bythose skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures inwhich:

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram view of a system for rejuvenating adegraded imaging sensor, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram view of a system for rejuvenating adegraded imaging sensor, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1C illustrates a block diagram view of a system for rejuvenating adegraded imaging sensor, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a process flow diagram of a method for rejuvenating adegraded imaging sensor, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed,which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1A through 2, a system and method forrejuvenating an imaging sensor degraded by exposure to extremeultraviolet (EUV) or deep ultraviolet (DUV) light is described inaccordance with the present invention. The present disclosure isdirected toward embodiments for illuminating an imaging sensor (e.g.,CCD sensor) of a semiconductor wafer and mask measurement system (e.g.,inspection system) degraded by exposure to EUV or DUV light. In thisregard, the system of the present invention may selectably illuminate adegraded imaging sensor during non-operation phases of the given imagingor measurement system. It is noted herein that various embodiments ofthe present invention may be used to rejuvenate (i.e., reversedegradation caused by high energy light exposure) without removing theimaging sensor from the measurement or imaging system. In this regard,the rejuvenation of the imaging sensor may be performed in-situ orex-situ. The system and method of the present invention includesselectably illuminating the imaging sensor of given measurement orimaging system with near infrared, visible or near ultraviolet lightwith enough intensity to heat the substrate of the imaging sensor,causing the temperature of the substrate of the imaging sensor to riseand therefore accelerate the imaging sensor rejuvenation process.

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram view of the rejuvenating system 100,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. In oneaspect, the system 100 may include a rejuvenation illumination system102 configured to selectably illuminate one or more imaging sensors 104of an imaging system 106. In this regard, the illumination system 102 issuitable for at least partially rejuvenating an imaging sensor degradedby exposure to EUV or DUV light. In another aspect, the system mayinclude a controller 108. In one embodiment, the controller 108 iscommunicatively coupled (e.g., wireline or wireless coupling) to therejuvenation illumination system 102. In a further embodiment, thecontroller 108 is configured to direct, or control, the rejuvenationillumination system 102 in order to illuminate the one or more imagingsensors 104 of the imaging system 106 with one or more cycles ofillumination. In another aspect, the controller 108 is configured tocause the rejuvenation illumination system 102 to illuminate the imagingsensor 104 with one or more cycles of illumination (i.e., light)suitable for at least partially rejuvenating the sensor 104. In anotheraspect, the controller 108 is configured to cause the rejuvenationillumination system 102 to illuminate the one or more imaging sensors104 during one or more non-imaging states (i.e., imaging sensor is notin operation) of the imaging sensor 104. In this regard, the controller108 is configured to cause the rejuvenation illumination system 102 toilluminate a given imaging sensor 104 at times when the imaging sensor104 is not being used by the imaging system 106 for image detection.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the imaging sensor 104 mayinclude a semiconductor based imaging sensor. In one embodiment, theimaging sensor 104 include charged coupled device (CCD) imaging sensor.In a further embodiment, the imaging sensor 104 may include asilicon-based CCD sensor.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the rejuvenationillumination system 102 may include one or more illumination sources 110configured to generate light suitable for at least partiallyrejuvenating an imaging sensor 104 degraded by exposure to high energylight, such as EUV or DUV light. In one embodiment, the rejuvenationillumination system 102 may include one or more illumination sources 110configured to generate illumination having a wavelength suitable forabsorption by a substrate of the imaging sensor 104. For example, in thecase of a CCD detector having a silicon substrate, the light generatedand emitted by the illumination source 110 of the illumination system102 may include light efficiently absorbed by the silicon substrate suchthat illumination from the illumination source 110 can adequately heatthe sensor 104. For example, light having a wavelength of greater than900 nm is generally not efficiently absorbed by a silicon substrate of aCCD detector. It is noted, however, that the particular absorptionthreshold for a particular implementation of the present invention isdictate to the specific absorption characteristics of the sensor 104.

In another embodiment, the rejuvenation illumination system 102 mayinclude one or more illumination sources 110 configured to generateillumination having an energy low enough (i.e., a wavelength largeenough) to substantially avoid degradation of the imaging sensor 104.For example, in the case of a CCD detector having a silicon substrate,the light generated and emitted by the illumination source 110 of theillumination system 102 may include light having a wavelength aboveapproximately 350 nm, which is sufficient to avoid causing additionaldamage to the imaging sensor 104. For instance, the illumination source110 of the rejuvenation illumination system 102 may include, but is notlimited to, any one of near IR light source, a visible light source or anear UV light source.

It is noted herein that in order to provide efficient light absorptionby the imaging sensor 104, while avoiding additional degradation of theimaging sensor 104, the one or more illumination sources 110 of therejuvenating illumination system 102 should be configured to emit lightbetween an absorption threshold and a damage threshold, which aredefined by the material properties of the imaging sensor 104. Forexample, in the case of a CCD sensor having a silicon substrate, the oneor more illumination sources 110 of the rejuvenating illumination system102 may be configured to emit illumination at a wavelength between 350and 900 nm, which define the damage and absorption thresholds,respectively, for a silicon based CCD detector.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the rejuvenationillumination system 102 includes one or more illumination sources 110configured to emit illumination having a power level (e.g., 1 watt)capable of heating a substrate above a rejuvenation temperaturethreshold. In this regard, the rejuvenation temperature threshold isinterpreted to as a temperature required to attain a selected level ofdegradation reversal (i.e., rejuvenation) in a given degraded imagingsensor 104. For example, in the case of a CCD imaging sensor with asilicon substrate, the minimum temperature threshold may beapproximately 60° C. In another embodiment, the rejuvenationillumination system 102 includes one or more illumination sources 110configured to emit illumination capable of limiting the heating of thesubstrate of a given imaging sensor 104 such that the temperature of thesubstrate does not exceed a selected degradation threshold. For example,in the case of a CCD imaging sensor with a silicon substrate, theminimum temperature threshold may be approximately 80° C. In a furtherembodiment, the one or more illumination sources 110 of the rejuvenationillumination system 102 may be configured to heat a substrate of theimaging sensor 104 to a temperature between the absorption anddegradation thresholds. For example, in the case of a CCD imaging sensorwith a silicon substrate, the illumination source 110 may be configuredto heat the silicon substrate to a temperature between 60° and 80° C.

In another embodiment, the rejuvenation illumination system 102 mayinclude one or more illumination sources 110 configured to illuminatethe imaging sensor 104 continuously over a selected time interval. Forexample, the selected time interval may include, but is not limited toone hour. In another embodiment, it is recognized that the time intervalmay significantly exceed 1 hour. It is further noted herein thatfollowing a given rejuvenation illumination process carried out by thepresent invention, a time for equilibration should be allowed in orderto allow the imaging sensor 104 to return to its normal operatingtemperature prior to a subsequent image/measurement acquisition. Forexample, the time required for imaging sensor 104 equilibrationfollowing rejuvenation may include, but is not limited to, one minute.

In another embodiment, the one or more illumination sources 110 areconfigured to illuminate the imaging sensor 104 with a series ofexposure intervals. In this regard, each exposure of the imaging sensormay last for a selected exposure interval time. Further, the exposureintervals (i.e., ON state) may be separated in time by a series of “OFF”states, wherein the duration of the “OFF” states is also selectable. Itis noted herein that the summed time of exposure may include, but is notlimited to, one or more hours.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the one or moreillumination sources 110 of the rejuvenation illumination system 102 mayinclude one or more pulsed lasers. In this regard, in the case of asilicon based CCD imaging sensor, a short laser pulse of high intensitymay act to heat substantially only the silicon of the imaging sensor inthe vicinity of the interface between the silicon and the thintransparent film disposed on the top surface of the silicon. It is notedherein that a pulsed laser with a wavelength between 350 and 550 nm willnot generally penetrate more than approximately 1 μm into silicon andwill heat the interface, film and top layer of silicon. It is furthernoted herein that since the degradation is caused by effects at theinterface and in the transparent film, the present invention acts toprovide heat in the imaging sensor architecture where it is effectivelyused. It is further noted that it is possible to locally heat anexposure region of an imaging sensor to a high temperature (e.g.,approximately 300° C.), without significantly raising the temperature ofthe underlying silicon or detector package. It is further recognizedherein that in the pulsed-source case described herein silicon of a CCDimaging sensor will efficiently spread heat laterally. As such, it maybe necessary to move the beam between or during pulses in order torejuvenate the complete active area of the imaging sensor 104. It isfurther noted that advantage of this embodiment of the present inventionincludes the ability to achieve much higher temperatures than in thecontinuous wave case described throughout the present disclosure. Higherachievable temperatures, in turn, lead to more complete imaging sensorrejuvenation in a smaller amount of time, allowing for more frequentrejuvenation and shorter imaging system down times.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the one or more illuminationsources 110 of the rejuvenation illumination system 102 may include alight emitting diode. In another embodiment of the present invention,the one or more illumination sources 110 of the rejuvenationillumination system 102 may include a narrow band source, such as, butnot limited to, a laser. In one embodiment of the present invention, theone or more illumination sources 110 of the rejuvenation illuminationsystem 102 may include broadband source, such as, but not limited to abroadband lamp.

FIGS. 1A through 1C depict various high-level block diagram views of thevarious configurations of the system 100 suitable for selectablyilluminating one or more portions of an imaging sensor 104, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, the rejuvenation illuminationsystem 102 may include one or more illumination sources 110 alignedoff-axis with respect to the normal illumination pathway 106 of theinspection/imaging system 106. Light traveling from the output of theillumination source(s) 110 of the rejuvenation illumination system 102does not interfere with the normal imaging process carried out by theimaging sensor 104 on the sample 105 (or mask) disposed on stage 109 Inthis regard, light traveling along the optical pathway defined by theillumination source 110 and the imaging sensor 104 does not interferewith light traveling along the optical pathway 107 (e.g., collectionpathway) of the imaging/inspection system 106. In additionalembodiments, the system 100 may include one or more optical elementsused to direct, focus, or filter illumination emanating from the one ormore illumination sources 110. For example, the system 100 may includeone or more lenses 103 configured to focus illumination from theillumination sources 110 onto the imaging sensor 104. It is noted hereinthat the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1A is not limiting asnumerous equivalent embodiments are within the scope of the presentinvention. It is further noted that with respect to the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 1A the illumination source 110 may be positioned atnumerous positions relative to the imaging sensor 104 provided suchpositioning allows light emitted by the one or more illumination sources110 to impinge on the sensor 104 along a direction that is off-axis fromthe optical pathway of the illumination system of the imaging/inspectionsystem 106.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B, the rejuvenationillumination system 102 may include one or more illumination sources 110and one or more actuatable (e.g., translational or rotational) mirrors112 configured to selectably establish a temporary optical pathway 116between the one or more illumination sources 110 and a portion of theimaging sensor 104. For example, a mirror 112 may be disposed on anactuatable stage 114 (e.g., translatable stage or rotatable stage)configured to selectably move the mirror in a manner that allows for theselectable establishment of an illumination pathway 116 between the oneor more illumination sources 110 and the imaging sensor 104 during timesthe sensor 104 is in a non-imaging state, as shown in FIG. 1B. In oneembodiment, the actuatable stage may be a manually actuatable stage 114.In another embodiment, actuatable stage 114 may be communicativelycoupled to the controller 108. In a further embodiment, the controlleris configured to direct the actuatable stage 114 to move the mirror inorder to establish the temporary illumination optical pathway 116described above.

Regarding FIGS. 1A and 1B, in an additional embodiment, the system 100may include one or more devices suitable for inhibiting light reflectedfrom the imaging sensor 104 from entering the imaging/inspection system106. It is noted herein that light reflected from imaging sensor 104 andthe associated sensor package may cause damage or heating if thereflected light is able to travel into the imaging system 106. As such,in one embodiment, the imaging sensor 104 may be illuminated by theillumination sources 110 at a nonzero angle of incidence. In a furtherembodiment, the system 100 may include a non-reflective beam stopconfigured to block light reflected from one or more portions of theimaging sensor 104.

FIG. 1C illustrates a block diagram view of a rejuvenation system 100equipped with thermal monitoring capabilities, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. In one embodiment, a thermalmonitoring device 118 (e.g., thermocouple and the like) may be disposedin or on the imaging sensor 104. In another embodiment, the thermalmonitoring device 118 is communicatively couple to the controller 108.In a further embodiment, the thermal monitoring device 118 may measurethe temperature of one or more portions of the imaging sensor 104 andtransmit the measured temperature to the controller 108. In response tothe measured temperature, the controller 108 may establish and maintaina temperature of the imaging sensor 104 by directing the output power ofthe one or more illumination sources 110. For example, in the case of anLED illumination source, the controller 108 may control the current ofthe LED illumination source in order to control the output power of theillumination source 110 and thereby establish and maintain a desiredtemperature in the imaging sensor 104.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the imaging system106 is used in a normal operating mode with exposure of the imagingsensor 104 (e.g., CCD or TDI) to EUV or DUV light. After a fixed periodof time of accumulated exposure (e.g., fixed based on anticipated levelof degradation of the given time), a given imaging process is completedand a mirror 112 is moved into place and the one or more illuminationsources 110 (e.g., laser, lamp or LED) of the rejuvenation system 100are engaged. The mirror is positioned into a location allowing for thetemporary establishment of a rejuvenation illumination pathway 116,allowing the one or more illumination sources 110 to expose at least aportion of the imaging sensor 104 with uniform illumination (e.g., nearUV, visible or near IR light). Due to the exposure to the rejuvenatingillumination, the imaging sensor 104 may be heated and the temperaturemay be monitored using a temperature sensor 118 (e.g., thermocouple)embedded in the substrate of the imaging sensor 104, whereby thetemperature results are collected by controller 108. Further, inresponse to the temperature measurements of the temperature sensor 118,the power output of the one or more illumination sources 110 may becontrolled by the controller 108 in order to stabilize the imagingsensor 104 at a selected temperature (e.g., 80° C.). Then, thetemperature of the imaging sensor 104 may be maintained at the selectedtemperature for a selected amount of time (e.g., 15 minutes). In oneembodiment, during the rejuvenating phase, a new sample may be loadedonto the sample stage 109. Following the heating cycle of the imagingsensor 104 using the rejuvenation illumination system 102, theillumination sources may be turned off, allowing the imaging sensor 104to cool. Upon reaching a normal operating temperature (e.g., 35° C.),the mirror 112 is moved in a manner to terminate the temporaryrejuvenation optical pathway 116, allowing a normal imaging process tobe carried out using the imaging sensor 104 and the optical pathway 107.

FIG. 2 illustrates a process flow 200 for rejuvenating an imaging sensordegraded by extreme ultraviolet or deep ultraviolet light, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. In step 202, a portion ofan imaging sensor of an imaging system is illuminated during anon-imaging state of the imaging sensor with illumination suitable forat least partially rejuvenating the imaging sensor degraded by exposureto at least one of extreme ultraviolet light or deep ultraviolet light.In step 204, the temperature of the imaging sensor is monitored. In step206, responsive to the monitored temperature of the imaging sensor, thetemperature of the imaging sensor may be established or maintained byadjusting a power output level of illumination impinging on the imagingsensor.

It is further contemplated that each of the embodiments of the methoddescribed above may include any other step(s) of any other method(s)described herein. In addition, each of the embodiments of the methoddescribed above may be performed by any of the systems described herein.

It should be recognized that the various control steps associated withthe configuring of the system 100 described throughout the presentdisclosure may be carried out by controller 108 include a singlecomputer system or, alternatively, a multiple computer system. Moreover,different subsystems of the system 100 may include a computer systemsuitable for carrying out at least a portion of the steps describedabove. Further, the one or more computer systems may be configured toperform any other step(s) of any of the method embodiments describedherein.

The controller 108 may include, but is not limited to, a personalcomputer system, mainframe computer system, workstation, image computer,parallel processor, or any other device known in the art. In general,the term “computer system,” “computing system(s),” or “computer controlsystem” may be broadly defined to encompass any device(s) having one ormore processors, which execute instructions from a memory medium.Program instructions implementing methods such as those described hereinmay be transmitted over or stored on carrier medium. The carrier mediummay be a transmission medium such as a wire, cable, or wirelesstransmission link. The carrier medium may also include a storage mediumsuch as a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic oroptical disk, or a magnetic tape.

While particular aspects of the present subject matter described hereinhave been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the subject matter described hereinand its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are toencompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as arewithin the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.

What is claimed:
 1. A system comprising: an imaging system including animaging sensor, the imaging system including an optical pathway betweenthe imaging sensor and a sample stage, wherein the imaging system isconfigured to image one or more samples disposed on the sample stagewith at least one of extreme ultraviolet light or deep ultravioletlight; a rejuvenation illumination system including one or moreillumination sources configured to selectably illuminate a portion ofthe imaging sensor of the imaging system with illumination for at leastpartially reversing degradation of the imaging sensor caused by exposureof the imaging sensor to the at least one of extreme ultraviolet lightor deep ultraviolet light from the imaging system, wherein therejuvenation illumination system includes an optical pathway between theone or more illumination sources of the rejuvenation system and theimaging sensor, the optical pathway of the rejuvenation illuminationsystem is aligned off-axis relative to the optical pathway of theimaging system, wherein the one or more illumination sources of therejuvenation illumination system are configured to generate illuminationof at least one wavelength range different from extreme ultravioletlight and deep ultraviolet light from the imaging system; and atemperature sensor disposed on a portion of the imaging sensor; and acontroller communicatively coupled to the rejuvenation illuminationsystem and the temperature sensor disposed one the portion of theimaging sensor, wherein the controller is configured to direct therejuvenation illumination system to illuminate the imaging sensor forone or more illumination cycles during a non-imaging state of theimaging sensor in response to one or more signals from the temperaturesensor.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the imaging sensor comprises:a semiconductor imaging sensor.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein theimaging sensor comprises: at least one of a charged coupled device (CCD)or a time delay integration (TDI) sensor.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the rejuvenation illumination system includes one or moreillumination sources configured to generate illumination having awavelength suitable for absorption by a substrate of the imaging sensor.5. The system of claim 1, wherein the rejuvenation illumination systemincludes one or more illumination sources configured to generateillumination having a wavelength large enough to substantially avoiddegradation of the imaging sensor.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein therejuvenation illumination system includes one or more illuminationsources configured to generate illumination having a wavelength in atleast one of the near infrared band, the visible band and the nearultraviolet band.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the rejuvenationillumination system includes one or more illumination sources configuredto generate illumination having a wavelength between 350 nm and 900 nm.8. The system of claim 1, wherein the rejuvenation illumination systemincludes one or more illumination sources configured to emitillumination capable of heating a substrate above a rejuvenationtemperature threshold.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein therejuvenation temperature threshold is 60° C.
 10. The apparatus of claim8, wherein the rejuvenation illumination system includes one or moreillumination sources emitting illumination capable of heating thesubstrate above the rejuvenation temperature threshold and below adegradation threshold.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein therejuvenation illumination system includes one or more illuminationsources emitting illumination capable of heating a substrate between 60°and 80° C.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the rejuvenationillumination system includes one or more illumination sources configuredto illuminate the imaging sensor continuously over a selected timeinterval.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the rejuvenationillumination system includes one or more illumination sources configuredto illuminate the imaging sensor over the selected time interval,wherein the one or more illumination sources are configured toilluminate the imaging sensor using two or more exposure intervalshaving a selected time of exposure.
 14. The system of claim 1, whereinthe rejuvenation illumination system includes one or more pulsedillumination sources configured to illuminate the imaging sensor with aperiodic waveform having selected pulse duration and frequency.
 15. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the rejuvenation illumination system includesone or more illumination sources, the one or more illumination sourcesincluding at least one of a light-emitting diode, a broadband lamp and alaser.
 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the rejuvenation illuminationsystem comprises: an actuatable mirror configured to selectablyestablish a temporary illumination pathway between an output of the oneor more illumination sources and the one or more imaging sensors. 17.The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to establisha selected temperature of the imaging sensor via the one or moreillumination sources of the rejuvenation system in response to thetemperature sensor.
 18. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller isconfigured to maintain a selected temperature of the imaging sensor viathe one or more illumination sources of the rejuvenation system inresponse to the temperature sensor.